AWESOME stingray habitat help!

[abortedsoul]

Hey everyone! I have a 96x36x24 tank on the way (the home to the 2 pairs of rays I am getting! If you know a breeder that has beautiful marbled motoros or hybrids, let me know!) and I was looking to get some inspiration or ideas on some cool things I could do.

I'm looking for some good ideas, so hook me up! Anyone that has just some crazy idea that they always wanted to do with their tank, or that they think would be good for rays, ANYTHING, please post it here!

Here's what I got so far:

*300 gallon planted Rubbermaid tub, external
-PLANTS! Lots of plants! What are some good friggin plants for removing bad voodoo from the water? I'm talking some plants that work magic!
-Any ideas on how to feed the water back into the tank? I was thinking of having a gravity-fed waterfall, but I would rather not have any huge thing over my tank. If pumps are used, would overflow be a possibility?
-Is there a way to make this look elegant or at least decent?

*Jets set barely above the sand to help circulate the bottom and keep waste material from accumulating on the bottom

Any ideas are welcome! Links to the DIY section, something crazy that you thought about but never tried yet, ANYTHING!


Thanks you guys, and looking forward to seeing your ideas.

-Matt & Ashley

 

[lincolngoh]

Something with a over and under flow, 1/2 the top cordened off for floating water plants, a slump, a side view glass/acrylic, a current section, and a quiet resting section and a bubble section preferbly with sand.

i'll be building a 8ft by 4ft by 3ft FGT with a 4ft x 3ft x 4ft(height) slum with those specs once my year end bonus comes in.

 

[FishDog]

Are you going to use any other kind of filtration besides the 300 gallon rubbermaid? If you put plants in it then you can use some kind of divider at one end and put a submersible pump to lift the water back to the tank while you have an overflow to drain the water into the rubbermaid. If you use plants and substrate you don't want to have too much circulation or the plants will lay on their side and the substrate will slowly wash into the pump. I had thought about putting Hyacinths (sp) in my sump. They do not need a substrate, they just float. Then I was going to put a grow light inside my stand that turned on and off with the tank light. I would definetly paint the back of the tank if you put it against a wall. Either black or something creative. I attach a pic of the back of my tank.

 

[stingray94]

This looks pretty awesome:
http://www.aquapress-bleher.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=261&Itemid=64

here's another nice tank from the same site:
http://www.aquapress-bleher.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=258&Itemid=64

 

[abortedsoul]

Are you going to use any other kind of filtration besides the 300 gallon rubbermaid? If you put plants in it then you can use some kind of divider at one end and put a submersible pump to lift the water back to the tank while you have an overflow to drain the water into the rubbermaid.

Yes! The tank I'm getting has a built in overflow x2 that leads to a wet/dry filter. If and when I feel confident enough, I may just divert some of the overflow into the rubbermaid plant bin, and use a pump or a canister filter to pump it back to the tank. Would a canister filter provide any extra benefit at that point, or is it better to just go with a pump?

If you use plants and substrate you don't want to have too much circulation or the plants will lay on their side and the substrate will slowly wash into the pump.

Floating plants are a must!

I had thought about putting Hyacinths (sp) in my sump. They do not need a substrate, they just float. Then I was going to put a grow light inside my stand that turned on and off with the tank light.

Are Hyacinths the best floating plants for removing ammonia/nitrite/nitrate from the water? If anyone knows of a superplant, speak up!

I would definetly paint the back of the tank if you put it against a wall. Either black or something creative. I attach a pic of the back of my tank.

The tank we are getting is coming in with the back painted black.

Thanks for your response! Love the ideas, and your tank setup looks gorgeous.

 

[abortedsoul]

This looks pretty awesome:
http://www.aquapress-bleher.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=261&Itemid=64

here's another nice tank from the same site:
http://www.aquapress-bleher.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=258&Itemid=64

Love the Biotopes! I'm thinking about using really smooth river rock (gravel sized) on the bottom of the tank, along with maybe a few bits of driftwood or bogroot or something. I might be able to find some smooth rocks that are a bit larger, but I'm always worried that I might put something in the tank that could irritate their discs.

 

[African_Fever]

Faster growing plants use more fertilizers, so look towards fast growing plants like vals or floating plants like hornwort.

If you're already going to be running a wet/dry or sump, there isn't really much point in adding another canister. I'd just make the sump larger. Are you using the rubbermaid as the sump, or do you have another sump? If the rubbermaid is in addition to the sump, that's going to take up a huge amount of space for the whole system.

 

[abortedsoul]

Faster growing plants use more fertilizers, so look towards fast growing plants like vals or floating plants like hornwort.

That is really, really good to know! I will do some research; thank you!

If you're already going to be running a wet/dry or sump, there isn't really much point in adding another canister. I'd just make the sump larger. Are you using the rubbermaid as the sump, or do you have another sump? If the rubbermaid is in addition to the sump, that's going to take up a huge amount of space for the whole system.

The wet/dry system is going to be set under the stand. The 300 gallon planted bin will be the sump.

I've got an entire bedroom that will be dedicated to nothing but that system and this computer, so space isn't really much of an issue.

 

[Marius]

Faster growing plants use more fertilizers, so look towards fast growing plants like vals or floating plants like hornwort.

If you're already going to be running a wet/dry or sump, there isn't really much point in adding another canister. I'd just make the sump larger. Are you using the rubbermaid as the sump, or do you have another sump? If the rubbermaid is in addition to the sump, that's going to take up a huge amount of space for the whole system.

Anubias are pretty hardy as well and less demanding than others... not to mention they help lower the nitrates in one's tank.

 

[Danyal]

look up naja grass, it grows almost exponentially, i put about a softball sized clump into my 180 and had about 8 cubic feet a few months later.